Foldable container



March 6, 1934. C, ||E|M FOLDABLE CONTAINER Filed Nov. 5, 1930 /N VEN-raf? JZCQ C. fare/772.

1 #Trae/Ifra- Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT CFFECE Brown & Bailey Company,

Philadelphia, Pa., a

corporation of Pennsylvania Application November 5, 1930, Serial No. 493,503

1 Claim.

v The invention relates to improvements in foldable containers.

The object of the present invention is to improve the construction of fcldable containers and toprovide a simple, practical and eiicient foldable container, designed for use as an ornamental flower pot cover, scrap basket, or other container, and adapted to be shipped in a dat collapsed condition and capable of being easily and quickly unfolded and arranged for use.

A further object of the invention is to provide a foldable container of this character embodying a construction adapted to be made of stiff, translucent material for use either in an upright or inverted position as an ornamental electric lamp shade.

A further object of the invention is to provide a foldable container adapted to be formed from a single piece blank of cardboard or other suitable material, and which will necessitate only a single adhesive area or equivalent fastening means for uniting two of the edges of the blank, whereby the use of glue or other adhesive or equivalent fastening means is reduced to a minimum.

With these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the construction and novel combination and arrangement of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawing, and set forth in the claim hereto appended, it being understood that various changes in the form, proportion and minor details of construction, within the scope of the claim, may be resorted to without departing from the spirit ofthe invention or sacrificing any of the advantages thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a plan view of the blank from which the foldable container is formed.

Fig. 2 -is a plan view of a foldable container constructed therefrom.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, partly broken away and taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a reverse plan View of the foldable container illustrated in Figs. 2 and 3.

Fig. 5 is a perspective View of a relatively large foldable container designed for use as a scrap basket or analogous receptacle.

Fig.V 6 is a side elevation on a smaller scaie of the foldable container illustrated in Figs. 2 to 4, inclusive, and shown folded, parts being broken away and sectioned for convenience o illustration.

Fig. 7 is a sectional view taken on the line '7 7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a vertical sectional view of a foldable container in the form of an ornamental electric lamp shade arranged in an upright position for use.

In the accompanying drawing, in which are illustrated the preferred embodiments of the invention, l designates a single piece blank designed to be constructed of cardboard or analogous material when the invention is employed as a container, as illustrated in Figs. 2 to '7, inclusive, and adapted also to be constructed of stiff translucent material when the invention is designed for useas an ornamental electric lamp shade, as illustrated in Fig. 8 of the drawing. The foldable container is designed in its smaller sizes to be employed as an ornamental flower pot cover or covering, and in its larger dimensions for use as a scrap basket, waste basket, or analogous receptacle for various purposes. The foldable container may be ornamented in any desired manner to provide a cheap, attractive flower pot covering or cover, and will be found particularly advantageous for use by a florist desiring to cover an ordinary flower pot, so that the same, when he is selling a plant, will present an ornamental yand attractive appearance. This will obviate the necessity of employing the rather expensive round bucket shaped paper container often used for this purpose, and also the kind of woven Japanese mat made of straw or some other fibrous material, which must be wrapped around the pot, folded in, and tied with a piece of ribbcn.

Tne blank consists of a wall section or member 2 and an end section or member 3 formed integral with the wall section, as clearly illustrated in Fig. l of the drawing. The blank illustrated in Fig. 1 of the drawing is designed to form a downwardly tapered, hexagonal foldable receptacle, andthe wall section 2 is approximately arcuate and is divided or formed into a longitudinal series of transversely disposed sides 4 by creasing the material transversely of the wall section, as indicated at 5, to form hinge connections between the sides to permit the said sides to be readily arranged at an angle to one another when the container is set up for use. Creasing, scoring, or any other suitable means may be employed for forming the hinge joints or connections between the sides, which incline downwardly and inwardly from the upper edge of the container when the sameis arranged for use. The sides taper from the top to the bottom in the tapering hexagonal receptacles, but it will be readily understood that it is not necessary to incline the sides, which may be arranged vertically if desired, and instead of forming a sixsided foldable container, a receptacle having any even number of sides may be provided.

The wall section is provided at one end with an attaching flap 6 formed integral with and extending longitudinally of the adjacent end side 4 of the wall section and adapted to overlap the side 4 at the other end of the Wall section, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2 and 5 of the drawing, and in practice the attaching iiap of the wall section, which is hinged to the adjacent integral side, is designed to be secured to the other end side 4 of the wall section by glue or other adhesive or any other suitable fastening means. When the invention is employed as an electric lamp shade, as hereinafter explained, any of the usual ornamental fastening means commonly employed on lamp shades may, of course, be used. When the attaching iiap 6 is secured to the opposite end of the wall section, the sides 4 form the walls of a downwardly tapering polygonal foldable container which is smaller at the lower end than at the top.

The end -section 3, which is hexagonal and of a size to t snugly within the wall formed by the sides 4, is hinged at 7 to one of the sides 4 at the lower end thereof and is adapted to be folded within the foldable container, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawing, to permit the container to be collapsed and arranged substantially ilat for storing or shipment. The hexagonal bottom 3 is provided at its three outer edges with integral substantially oblong flaps 8 and 9, and with a pair of triangular flaps 10 at its inner side edges, as clearly illustrated in Fig.`

1 of the drawing. The outer oblong flaps 8 and 9 have a slight inward taper to form end edges 11 which are arranged at an acute angle to the outer longitudinal edges 12 of the flaps 8 and 9 and the triangular flaps l0 have 13 arranged at an acute angle tothe longitudinal edges 14. The end edges of the oblong and triangular aps are cut at such acute angle to cause them toabut and jam, as clearly illustrated in Figs. 2, 3 and 5. The flaps 8, 9 and 10 of the bottom 3 are arranged at an inclination and t against the inner faces of the sides 4 when the foldable container is arranged for use, and the end edges of the said flaps 8, 9 and 10 form with the bottom a tapering cup which wedges in the lower end of the foldable container and resists any tendency to push the bottom entirely through the foldable container. The jamming and wedging action of the marginal flaps of the polygonal bottom 3 of the tapered polygonal container is sufficient to support the bottom 3 in position for use substantially at right angles to the plane of the sides of the container, and when the foldable container is employed as an ornamental cover or covering for a flower pot, the latter will prevent any inward movement of the bottom, which will not be subjected to any excessive strain tending to force it through the lower end cf the container. rIhe marginal flanges of the bottom 3 frictionally engage the inner faces of the sides 4 and will tend to resist the pushing of the bottom entirely through the container whether the walls 4 are inclined or vertical, and the said marginal flanges of the bottom greatly increase the rigidity and stability of the foldable container. The bottom section extends from one of the side edges of the wall the end edges section at a point intermediate of the ends thereof and folds readily within the container in collapsing the same, as illustrated in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawing.

The foldable container may be provided with auxiliary supporting or fastening means consisting of a :substantially segmental tongue 15 carried by the end marginal flap9 and .formed integral with the same by an arcuate cut 16 and arranged to be passed -through a slot 17 formed in the lower end of the side 4 which is contiguous to the marginal ap 9 when the foldable container is arranged for use. The segmental tongue 15 extends downwardly when the fiap 9 is in position for use, and the said tongue is readily inserted in the slot 17. The tongue in cooperating with the marginal flanges in supporting the bottom 3 forms a stop for limiting the downward movement of the said bottom, and thereby assists in maintaining the end edges of the marginal flangesin abutting relation and in preventing the said abutting edges from being sprung past one another.

In Fig. 5 of the drawing is rillustrated a relatively large'container 18 which -is Iconstructed the same as that heretofore described, A`the proportions only being different to provide ataller and larger receptacle for use as a scraper waste basket or analogous container. The containers will serve many useful purposes and Aare `susceptible of high ornamentation, and while the upper edges are shown straight in the accom- .panying drawing, they may, of course, be of any ornamental design.

In Fig. 8 of the drawing the foldable container is in the form of a lamp shade 19 which has a central opening 20 in the bottom to receive :the electric lamp 21 and suitable apertures 22areprovided in theV bottom around the central opening20 for the circulation of air to permit dissipation of the heat from the lamp 23. The lamp 4.shade is designed to be construe-ted of stii translucent material instead of cardboard and while it is shown upright in Fig. 8 of the drawing, vitzmay,

of course, be arranged in any other 'desired'.posi- 12.0

tion to adapt it to the particular electric light or xture on which it is to be used. It will of course be understood that the electric lamp shade may be mounted on the electric lamp or fixture in any other desired manner.

What is claimed is:

A foldable container of lthe character described comprising a wall section embodying a plurality of tapered sides hinged together at their side edges and means for connecting its ends `to forma continuous wall, a bottom section integral with vand hinged to the bottom edge of Vone `of `the .sides .of the wall section intermediate its ends so as to collapse within the containena pair Yof substantially triangular marginal bottom section on opposite sides of said edge, and a plurality of substantially rectangular vmarginal ilaps respectively hinged .to the :bottom section between said triangular flaps, all of said iiaps extending upwardly from the bottom-section with the end edges of adjacent flaps abutting and forming with the bottom section a 4tapering cup wedged between and supported from said walls when the container is in operatively assembled position.

JACOB C. HEIM. 

